George Von Elm
| George Von Elm | |
|---|---|
| — Golfer — | |
| Personal information | |
| Nickname | Gix |
| Born |
March 20, 1901 Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Died | May 1, 1961 (aged 60) Pocatello, Idaho |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) |
| Nationality |
 United States
|
| Career | |
| College | University of Utah |
| Turned professional | 1930 |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Professional wins | 7 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 5 |
| Other | 2 |
| Best results in major championships (wins: 1) |
|
| Masters Tournament | T50: 1951 |
| U.S. Open | 2nd: 1931 |
| The Open Championship | T3: 1926 |
| PGA Championship | DNP |
| U.S. Amateur | Won: 1926 |
| British Amateur | T17: 1930 |
| Achievements and awards | |
| Southern California Golf Hall of Fame |
2007 |
George "Gix" Von Elm (March 20, 1901 – May 1, 1961) was an American professional golfer most noted for his amateur career. He was selected by Golf Digest as Utah's greatest amateur golfer, and in the early 1960s was named Utah Golfer of the Century. During the period 1924 to 1931, Von Elm was one of the best players in the world. In the 1920s, Von Elm worked primarily in the financial and insurance industries, and later designed several golf courses.
Von Elm was born in Salt Lake City on March 20, 1901, to Jacob H. and Marie Demmer Von Elm. He began his golf career as a caddy on the old Salt Lake Country Club course, where he was coached by professionals Louis Berrien and Willie Lock. He later refined his game at the Forest Dale Golf Course. He attended West High School, where he was an outstanding athlete; he played quarterback on the football team. While a 16-year-old high school senior, he won the first of many tournaments, the 1917 Utah Amateur. He won the Utah Amateur again in 1920 and 1921. His golf skills developed quickly, and soon he was seeking competition outside the state. Von Elm attended the University of Utah, studying business, and developed his career in insurance and investments.
In 1921, Von Elm won the Pacific Northwest Men's Amateur in a final round that pitted the young Utahn against veteran Chandler Egan in what was described by the Salt Lake Tribune as "one of the most sensational matches in the history of northwest golf." He repeated as winner of that tournament the following year. He captured the 1920 Trans-Mississippi Amateur title, and lost in the finals of that event the next year.
Von Elm settled in the Los Angeles area in the early 1920s, but moved back to Utah shortly afterwards, taking a job in a bank. He was suspended by the United States Golf Association from amateur competition for one year, in late 1921, for accepting golf tournament expense money from friends who were Utah golf club members; this was against the rules. Another element of this suspension was his association with the golf manufacturer Spalding, which was against the rules at that time; Von Elm worked as an assistant mining engineer in Colorado for a time.
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